Letters to Belle
by ThisIsMyTownAndIDefendMyShips
Summary: Emma Swan has come to teach a class of 4th graders where she meets Faith French, Belle's much younger sister. Belle who has been supposedly dead for three years but has been held captive for 3 years. Join them as Belle races home and everyone else tries to accept her death. Insanely AU Spoiler: Happy Ending. Rumbelle & Captain Swan.
1. Chapter 1

Hi guys! So this is my first OUAT fic. I had this prewritten but adapted it to fit in this show that I absolutely love. I hope you guys like it. I'm releasing the first two chapters today and will continue updating until it's done. Please leave your reviews. It makes me want to update faster.

Anyways, on with the Show!

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Chapter 1

Emma Swan was weaving through the rows of desks of the fourth grade classroom. She was the new substitute teacher while Mrs. Blanchard-Nolan was out on maternity leave. It was her first day and Mrs. Blanchard-Nolan had left her some guidelines for the week. She had made it all the way through almost the whole day without a hiccup. It was Writing Block and Mrs. Blanchard-Nolan had them writing about their favorite thing to do with their families.

Emma had come from a big city in New York so her family time had been limited more than the children here. Her favorite memory was of her and her father strolling through the park passed her bedtime. She had never gotten to see her father much so it was nice to have those special moments.

She went by every student and asked them their names and what they were writing for their assignment. One of the girls made her stop and watch. The girl had long brown wavy hair and bangs that slanted to her left. She had dark green eyes and an annoyed expression written on her face. But what had paused Emma mostly was that her composition was covered in doodles but they were all lined up on the page like regular writing.

She knelt down next to her and asked, "Hey, What's your name?"

"Faith," she answered without looking up. She had an unmistakable Australian accent.

"I liked Art best when I was in school too, but unfortunately that class ended a while ago," she started, "I need you to do the assignment please."

"I am," she told her slightly annoyed as if her doubt had offended her.

"Forgive me, but if I can't some-what read it, I'm afraid that I can't count it as you doing your work. It's my first day and I would really like to not have to send anyone down to the principal's office," she tried.

"Mrs. Newman let me write this way. I've always written this way. Since I was born," Faith justified as she turned to face her.

"She did, did she?" Emma asked. She nodded. "Well, I will let it slide today but I am going to ask Mrs. Newman about it tonight. Do you want to change your story?" she asked giving her the opportunity to do so.

"No," she responded dead toned.

"Alright," she said and let it go for then. Emma knew that first impressions were the most important ones. If she wanted any of her students to come to her for help she knew she couldn't push the envelope too much today. So for now, she was going to have to let this go for the time being.

She was about to move onto the next student when something caught her eye. There was something sticking out between the pages of her book. "Can I see that?" she asked pointing to it.

"Uh, Sure," she hesitantly. She flipped to the page and attached to it was a photo. It was definitely a younger version of Faith with a woman, probably her mom. She had the same, light skin and sweet smile. The big differences were the age, height, her darker brown wavy hair and her cornflower blue eyes instead of Faith's dark green.

You could tell just by looking at her that she was probably the sweetest person on earth. It was something in her eyes or the way that she smiled that told you just about everything you needed to know.

The picture was of the two of them wearing matching hawaiian themed dresses with lays around their necks, wrists and ankles and a hibiscus in their hair. They were standing outside what was now the abandoned Storybrooke clock tower that also housed the public Library in the center of town. She'd been wondering about that building and what happened to it.

"Is that you and your mom?" she asked.

"No way," she laughed. "That's my sister, Belle."

"Your sister?" Emma was quite surprised to say the least. There were obvious dysfunctions in that family. But like with most families, there always were. Either this woman had lied to her daughter for her entire life, or there had been some odd stuff happening with their parents.

"Yeah, That's us when we were going to the Town Hawaiian Luau three years ago," she told her.

"That's cool. Is that what you're writing about?" she asked.

"No, I'm writing about how my dad and I eat dinner together," she answered.

"Doesn't Belle, eat with you too sometimes?" Emma wondered.

Faith's smile disappeared quickly as she looked back at the picture. There was a tear forming in her eye. "She can't. She's not around anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she sympathised.

"Things haven't been the same since then," Faith added quietly.

Emma was concerned about that statement. What did that mean? Where was Faith's mom? Where was Belle? And what happened that made her leave?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The final bell rang and Faith was the first one out the door. She grabbed her bookbag and took off running down the street. The air was crisp and cool around her as she made her way to Hailman's Burgers. She burst through the door almost breaking that little bell off its hinges. She took her normal stool at the bar.

"Three minutes and twenty two seconds," Killian said as he hit the stop button on his stopwatch.

"Yes!" she declared victoriously as she pumped her fist in the air. "You know what that means."

"One free burger, comin' up," he laughed.

Killian was Faith's favorite waiters of all time. Killian had short black hair and stubble. Chiseled features, light blue eyes, charming smile. He'd been a friend of Belle's during her college years and had helped her get a job there so she could save up and help pay off some of her tuition fee, and some for her, she was a baby. After she had died, Killian was always there to split a cheeseburger and fries with her, on the house.

The diner had your basic chrome theme. Chrome, blue and pink walls, red and silver plastic booths and bar stools, circular tables that seemed to reflect off rainbows of chrome. The waiters all wearing white t-shirts and aprons with their names and edges stitched in red on their aprons and hats. It was a classic. The owner and chef, Granny, had always said, "The classics will always make someone stop and try us out. It's the people and the food we serve that make the people have come back."

"So how was school?" Killian asked her.

"We got a new substitute for Mrs. Newman while she's having her baby. Her name's Emma Swan. She's nice but nosy," she told him.

"Well now Ms. Faith, Let's be honest," he began. "You do have a very interesting life."

"Sure, but that's not something I like to talk about," she told him. He laughed as he set her burger down in front of her.

"If you bring her around sometime I might be able to get some sense into her," he told her.

"Really?" she asked excited. "I mean she's nice and all but she has to pick some other kid to be concerned about."

"I'll see what I can do about it," he promised.

"I'll bring her over as soon as I can," she told him. "But I have to go. Angela is not gonna like me being late."

"Hey, one day at a time," he told her as he put her burger in a to go box.

"You know it dude," she said as she got up. She gave him a two finger salute, "Bye Killian."

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So what did you guys think? I know this chapter was short but I promise that it will have longer ones ahead. Let me know so I can keep updating and know that it's not a complete failure. See you next chapter! :D


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guy! :D Yeah I couldn't help myself. I had to post this. Also I got a review (Thank you Actress10) that asked me about Emma, Killian and the curse. Sorry to tell you but there is no curse. Killian just works there because he needs the money. He's not in trouble don't worry. As for Emma, I wanted to use her more than I did Snow and Charming. I also thought it'd be kinda funny Emma taking her plac. :) I love them but I love Captain Swan and Rumbelle more. This is ridiculously AU so take half of what you know and throw it out the window.

As I promised, I deliver a longer chapter to my public. Enjoy!

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Faith made her way home not in a particular hurry. She told her babysitter that school ended later than it actually did so she had extra time to hang out with anybody if she wanted. That was mostly Killian but, hey, friends are friends just the same.

The air was crisp and clean around her. The town was moving about it's regularly scheduled day. Mr. Hopper was watering his plants, Mrs. Mills was walking home from some meeting and Mr. Nolan was getting his mail. The whole town was run by the ticking of a clock. It never changed. She turned to enter her dad's house. The house was an old victorian style house. A gentle yellow exterior with pale green roofing and gutters.

She never really liked to think of it as her home. A home was where you lived with people who loved you and took care of you and were always there for you. Russell loved her like his own, but she knew there were moments that he wished that this was all a dream he could wake up from. To be honest, the whole place felt off. There was always something missing. There was a wrong feeling when they ate dinner, when she tucked herself in at nights and even when she arrived and opened the door to Angela.

She knew what was missing. She always had. It missed the feeling of a mother's touch or in this case her sister's. It missed happiness. It was missing Belle. Except she was gone now. She knew that she had to move on… but her heart always felt like it was being chipped at or it was about to be smashed. Three years and she still couldn't move past her. Then again, how could she move on from the best person she'd ever known? Her best friend in the entire world.

Faith slowly turned the doorknob and entered the house. There was Angela, sitting on the couch on her computer as if she belonged there. If she did, she was that annoying teen everyone wished would grow up and move out already.

"There you are," she started sickenly sweet. It was fake. She knew that. Her cold brown eyes screamed how much she despised Faith. Angela had always had a thing for Russell. Russell however had never seen her in that way. His eyes had always been solely fixed on Belle. With Belle gone she thought that this was her chance. That however flew out the window when he told her that she was adopting the younger version of the person who kept her away from her happiness. Faith was a constant reminder to her that she'd lost. The only way she even got to see Russell was when he came back from work. She figured if she was gonna be stuck with the 'brat' she may as well use it. "How was school?" she continued.

"Fine," she answered coldly. She wasn't gonna pretend that she liked Angela. If Belle were here she would have told her to be kind and respectful of everybody. Even if you didn't like them. Belle wasn't here though, and she didn't know how big of a jerk Angela was. She tried to at first, but after a while she had taken all she could.

"What homework do you have?" Angela asked.

"Math, Art and Grammar," she answered.

"Well, Get to it. You've got your chores to do as well," she told her.

'Her' chores were to make dinner, clean up the majority of the house, start the laundry and clean up after dinner. Everything a mom was supposed to do. Or in the unfortunate case, Angela. "Got it," she said as she went upstairs to do her homework. It had been this way since Russell had figured out that the hours he was working were the ones that meant he couldn't take care of Faith like a single parent needed to. Granted, it was better than her real parents had taken care of her. They never got back from their 'trip' to Monte Carlo.

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Russell finally pulled into his driveway. Work had been exhausting. He was fighting for this kid in Sea Haffer whose parents were arguing about who was gonna get custody. The father was much better suited than his mother but her lawyer was a pitbull. She almost scared him. Almost.

He looked at the time on his watch. It was almost nine. He had about maybe ten minutes before Faith had to go to bed. He ran his fingers through his longer brown hair. He wanted to be home for Faith more, but that meant he would have to quit his well paying job that provided nicely for them, or somehow get his boss to give him better hours. For now this was the best he could do. He opened the door and entered his home. "Faith! I'm home!" he called.

"Dad!" Faith yelled happily as she ran into her father's loving arms.

"Hey Sweetheart," he greeted her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, Dad," she said.

"So how was school?" he asked, as he picked her up.

"It was good. We got a new sub for Mrs. Blanchard- Nolan. Her name is Emma Swan. She's nice but kinda nosy. Not in the 'I'm gonna gossip about this' type but in that, 'I don't have anybody of my own to be invested in so I picked you' kind of way," Faith explained.

"Really?" he wondered. He knew that Faith was a bit more secretive than most kids were. Ms. Swan had probably seen her writing in her code. It was like a second language. She never needed a key to make sure that she was spelling something correctly, it just flowed naturally. Mrs. Nolan had probably forgotten to give Ms. Swan a copy of the key. "Why do you think Ms. Swan would pick you?"

"She got all weird when she saw my writing. It's not that crazy. She almost sent me down to the principal's office," she told him.

"Were you disrespectful to her at all?" he questioned. Belle had taught him to make sure that he looked at things through the other person's perspective. It had made him a better person, and he was sure that she would want to make sure that Faith learned it too.

"I, well, maybe a little. I'll apologize to her tomorrow," she promised.

"Good girl. Hey, you run on up and I'll come in and tuck you in after I pay Ms. Porter okay?" he asked.

"Fine… but hurry," she told him as he set her down.

"Will do," he agreed as she went upstairs.

He turned to see Angela set against one of the doorways in the room. "Have I told you how much I owe you?" he asked, chuckling.

"More than you wish were true," she joked with him.

Russell laughed at the fact that was true. He liked Angela, truly. She had long black hair, brown eyes and a nice smile. She was funny and dependable. She'd been helping him since Belle's death. That was the thing that stopped him though. Even though she was funny and dependable; she didn't have any goals other than to pay her rent. She didn't have any dreams or any aspiration to do anything. Plus, she was also not the nicest person he'd ever met. He'd seen her out in public before, and it was a little disappointing. She'd been snarky to a lot of people. He knew that, that would not have been tolerable to Belle. Belle was polite in everything she ever did. She always put others before herself.

This was the problem he had with every girl he'd ever liked. He always compared them to Belle. Belle was, well, almost perfect. He wasn't blind, he knew she had problems. She sometimes would overbook herself or do too much and end up exhausted at the end of the day and sometimes her dream she was trying to accomplish was impossible. But that's what made her more enduring. She would face everything head on with no fear. If she was wrong, she would go back and fix what she could. No girl could come close to her. He knew that he needed to accept that and move on. Everytime he tried though, he kept feeling this tug in his heart telling him that it was wrong.

He pulled out his wallet, "here you go," he said as he handed her the money.

"Thank you," she said purposefully having their fingers touch longer than they should have. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," he said. He closed the door behind him and let out a tired sigh. He was going to tuck Faith in quick and then hit the hay.

"Dad! Are you coming?!" Faith asked still waiting upstairs for him.

"Be right up!" he told her as he made his way up.

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Well, What'd you think? Seriously I wanna know. Review please. :) Thank you and till next chapter

TIMTAIDMS


	4. Chapter 4

Here's chapter 4! It's a shorter one sorry but I'll post the next one too so I hope that makes up for it. Here you go :)

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Chapter 4

Russell was sitting on a park bench by the docks. The autumn air was cold and crisp, swirling around him. He pulled his coat tighter around him. Unfortunately, that did him little good as he was still cold.

"You're going to freeze in that," someone laughed.

The voice. It was unmistakable. It was so gentle and kind. Filled with hope and love. With an accent he'd never forget.

"Belle," he half asked and turned around.

There she was. His darling Belle. She was smiling at him the way she always had. With pure love. She was near the point of laughing her smile was so big. He rushed to her, took her in his arms and held her tight, afraid to ever let go for if he did, she'd suddenly be stolen from him again. "Belle, Oh my darling. Sweetheart. I've missed you so much."

She laughed and returned his hug immediately, to which Russell was overjoyed about. "I never got to tell you so many things," he whispered. "I never got to tell you about about the first time I saw you. I never got to tell you how sorry I was." He moved so that he could see her face. "I never got to tell you… that I love you."

There were tears in Belle's eyes. Tears of pure joy and bliss. Slowly, He leaned down to kiss her. He was an inch away when all of a sudden, she gasped. Her body grew limp in his arms. "Belle!" he cried out. He gently lowered her to the ground. Blood started pooling underneath her. "Belle! Belle what happened?!" he cried trying to stop the bleeding.

She was gasping for air, "Russell," she pleaded. "I…I...I have to t-tell you th-that I…"

Russell stared at her. As if it alone would bring her back. "Belle," he called to her quietly.

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"No!" he gasped. He looked around. He was back in his room. It had all been merely a dream. He was covered in sweat from head to toe. He kept trying to tell himself that it had only been a dream. But it had felt so real.

When Belle died, at first, he had a difficult time getting a decent night sleep for every time he closed his eyes she appeared to him and always died in his arms. Again and again. After a while though, he was finally able to get some decent night's sleep but even now his body still felt like it was compensating for all the sleep lost long ago. Tonight was no different. After some tea he would be okay and able to go back to bed.

He wondered what had made tonight one of the nights. It had been almost six months since he'd had a dream about Belle. That was a new record for him. Well he'd figure it out when he'd had more sleep. He looked over and saw Faith's backpack. 'Shoot, I forgot about Faith's code,' he thought. He quickly scribbled out Faith's code out on a sheet of paper along with a message for her teacher. On a post-it note he told Faith to give the paper to Ms. Swan. With that done he headed back to bed for what he hoped would be a peaceful sleep.

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Please review and comment. It is how I stay alive! I feed off of your words. I can't post anything if I'm dead. Hope you all love this as much as I do. Until next time.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey 'sup? :D Chapter 5 is here! Hope you guy enjoy.

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Chapter 5

Ms. Swan was looking at all the kids playing on the playground. It was nice to watch them having their own fun. Her long wavy blonde hair was being gently blown back behind her by the cold breezes passing through the entire town. It was nice though, that the sun was shining today, otherwise it would've been far colder. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Faith sitting on the curb just watching everybody else. She walked over and sat down beside her. "Kinda lonely over here don't you think?" she asked lightly.

Faith was still looking out at the kids when she answered, "It's even lonelier in there."

Emma nodded. She worried about Faith. She'd been looking over her grades and found that she used to be an A student but had suddenly declined as if overnight and never recovered. Faith often looked like she was distracted by something and was often lost in everything but reading and writing. Thankfully her dad had given her the key to her code so she was now able to finally read her writing and it was good. "So do you just sit here and watch them or is today special?"

"I'll sometimes have a book or a some paper but I forgot my notebook today," she told her.

"Hey, when recess is over, how about I give you some paper and you can write on that?" she offered.

"That could work," she answered.

"Good," Emma laughed. She noticed that there was a look of loss in her eyes. "Hey, um, do you know how Belle is?" she asked. She knew she had to tread lightly on this subject. Belle was obviously a big part of her life.

"I don't," she told her. Her eyes stared down at the ground.

"Well, When I don't know how someone is and I can't ask them, I write them a letter and ask them. I also tell them what's happened to me lately or any other big news," she told Faith.

"I guess I could try that," she said.

"Great," Emma praised happily. The bell rung for recess to end. "Better get inside," she said light heartedly. Faith got up and followed her inside.

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Maybe Ms. Swan wasn't as bad as Faith had thought. She seemed really nice. Lonely but nice. Then it hit her. She knew exactly who she needed to meet. She proudly raised her hand. Ms. Swan started to come over. This was going to be one of her finest plans yet.

"What's up Faith?" she asked. Faith liked her smiles. They were like the ones Belle had. Genuine. No annoyance or phoniness hidden within her voice or eyes like Angela.

"Ms. Swan, I was wondering if you could walk me home. My dad's not going to be home for a while and can't pick me up today. Would you mind? If you can't, I get it," Faith told her.

"It's not a problem at all. I'd love to. I've also been meaning to meet your dad," she answered.

"Thanks," Faith said as Ms. Swan left to check on someone else. Oh, yeah. This was by far one of her best plans yet.

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Mischievous little munchkin! Faith in on the rise. Better watch out! As always please please please review! Actress10 is carring you all on this ride. (PS Actress10 is now my favorite person in this place) Help him/her out. (Sorry I didn't know if you were a gal or a dude and didn't want to assume.)


	6. Chapter 6

Hi guys! :D I have a longer chapter for you. This was absolutely one of my favorite scenes to right and I hope it's one of your's.

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Chapter 6

Killian was sitting behind the counter with his stopwatch in hand. It had already been eight minutes since school had been let out. 'She must not be coming today,' he thought as he went to the back to grab one of the orders for a different table.

"Killian?" he heard. It was definitely Faith. He hit stop on his watch.

"Eight minutes and forty four seconds," he said as he entered back into the bar area. "What happened to you to…" he didn't finish because when he looked up Faith was sitting next to the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. She had beautiful kelp green eyes and lovely, long, wavy, blonde locks of which he swore would have felt like silk. She had the prettiest smile he'd ever seen. Her peach skin looked soft and smooth. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure the halo he saw above her head wasn't real. If he could've seen her heart, he'd bet it was made of gold.

"Killian, this is Ms. Swan," Faith said proudly.

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Emma stared at the guy in front of her. He had blue marker colored eyes and black short hair that perfectly framed his head. He had a cute smile that made her heart swell a bit. He was definitely toned, his baggy clothes couldn't hide that, nor she the blush that was certainly showing on her cheeks. His skin looked a bit rough but he seemed so gentle. The guy was absolutely dashing but the thing that made her feel butterflies inside her stomach the most was that somehow, she knew that he was gentleman, and that he would treat any girl he met with the respect she deserved.

"Ms. Swan, this is Killian," Faith continued proudly while inside all she was thinking was, 'Jackpot!'

"Hi love," he said as he reached out his hand.

"Hi," she copied and she took his hand shaking it slowly. That was all she really seemed to be able to do. It was like her brain turned off and had left her stranded.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Swan," he said.

"Please, Call me Emma," she told him.

"Okay, Emma," he said testing it out. His accent was going to be the death of her, though at this point, that wasn't such a bad way to go. She loved the way her name seemed to roll of his tongue. Her heart was feeling 50 million different things at once.

"I have to take this to the table back there, but if you give me a minute, I will be right back to take your order," he said.

"Yeah, sure," she nodded. She finally let go of his hand she hadn't realized she was still holding and watched him go.

He moved quickly to finish with them and make his way back to them.

"Alright, what can I get for you too today?" he asked.

"Um, I'll have a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onions and ketchup please," Emma told him starting to finally come out of her daze.

"I'll have the usual," Faith told him.

"Comin' right up loves," he said as he ripped the paper off the pad and stuck it on the chandelier of orders.

"So how do you guys know each other?" Emma asked.

"Well, um, it was the summer of '06 and it was storming pretty bad outside," Killian started. "We were just about to close. We had three minutes and thirty seconds left when all of a sudden this girl comes barreling into the diner drenched with a crying little bundle in her arms." He gave Faith a small rub on the head making her giggle.

"She asked if she could use our bathroom. We tell her of course she could. She thanks us and she heads into the bathroom. About twenty minutes later she comes out. Both her and her sister are completely dry. She thanks us again and is about to leave when I hear this giant rumbling sound. She stares down at her stomach completely mortified. I laugh and tell her to sit down and I'll fix her up a free cheeseburger. She smiled the biggest smile I'd ever scene and gave me a humongous hug. She tells me that without me she wouldn't have eaten that day at all. I tell her it's my pleasure and I ask her what her name is. Her name was Belle. I told her that if she or anyone in her family made it here in three minutes and thirty seconds or under they'd get a burger on me," he laughed and gestured to Faith. "I haven't broken that promise since."

"Order up," Granny yelled from inside the kitchen.

"Got it," Killian called as he went to go pick up the burgers.

Emma smiled. The story was so sweet. She knew he was a sweet guy but that was one of the sweetest things she'd ever heard of. The city was certainly not as friendly back where she came from.

"Oh, shoot," Faith said as she looked at the clock. "We gotta go," she told Emma. "Killian! Those are gonna have to be to go. She's going to be sending out her search party in six minutes out to find me!"

"Roger that," he called back. He put everything into the to-go boxes and bags and sent them on their way. "Bye guys."

"Oh wait, I didn't pay you for the burgers how much for them?" Emma asked.

"First burger's free," he smiled. "Go, before you have to deal with her."

"Who?" she asked.

"Less talking. More running," Faith said as she grabbed Bree's hand and took off dragging a confused Emma along. "Thanks again Killian!"

"Anytime French Jr!" he told her. He sighed and leaned against the door. That Emma was something else. He really hoped she would come back soon.

"Killian! Let's go!" the cook called.

"Coming," he called as he headed back inside.

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So? What'd'cha think? Please let me know. Your comments mean the world to me


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys! Chapter 7 is here! Hope you guys like it. :)

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Faith ran as fast as she could dragging Ms. Swan. They got there right as Angela opened the door to go and find her.

"You're late," she said coolly but as she saw Ms. Swan her voice changed to a sweeter tone. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you." she put her hand on her shoulder but Faith shrugged it off immediately, so she turned to Emma. "Thank you for bringing her home. I don't believe we've met before. I'm Angela," she told her.

"Emma," she introduced. "Faith's teacher."

"Ah, so nice to meet you," she said.

"You too," she said. Something felt off about this woman. Emma wasn't sure what it was, but she was going to find out. "Are you Faith's mom?"

Faith stared at her like she was from Mars while Angela just laughed. "Oh, goodness no," she laughed. To be honest, it was more like a cackle than anything. It scared her a bit. "I'm just the babysitter. I wish I were her mom. Her parents are in Monte Carlo as we speak, or at least that's what we've been told for the last five years. If you ask me, they were never meant to be parents either of the times. Faith was much better off with Belle. Belle's ex-boyfriend Russell adopted her when she left. He's been taking care of her ever since."

"She's not his ex. They never broke up. She's only his exish," Faith said.

This whole thing was crazy. Emma shocked at the entirety of the thing. This girl had gone through so much. Then the only constant thing she had was ripped away from her.

"Ms. Swan is staying for dinner tonight," Faith told her as she held up her to-go bag from the diner.

"Wonderful," Angela said. Her voice wavered a bit. "Well let's not stand in the cold. Come in, Come in."

"Thank you," she said as she followed them inside.

* * *

Russell pulled into the driveway and stepped out of the car. Today was a good day. He had managed to get home in time for dinner for once. No doubt Faith had brought home one of her free cheese burgers from Hailman's. That poor kid was gonna go broke soon. He turned the handle and stepped inside his house. "Faith!"

"Dad!" Faith called as she rushed to him.

"Hey," he said as he picked her up and twirled her around. "How was school?"

"Good. It was Ricky's birthday today so we all had cupcakes in Math," she told him.

"That sounds awesome," he said. "Speaking of food. I didn't miss dinner did I?"

"Nope. I set yours out on the table just in case," she answered.

"Well then. Let's not let our food get cold and nasty right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she laughed, as they made their way to the kitchen.

He stopped when he saw the pretty blonde sitting at the table. "Uh, sweetie, Who is this?" he asked a tad concerned.

"This is Ms. Swan, my teacher," she told him. Now he was able to breathe a bit easier. "She had been wanting to meet you so I invited her for dinner after she met Killian. One word for you dad. Sparks," she teased. Ms. Swan laughed a bit before she rose to greet him.

"Hi," she said extending her hand. "Emma."

"Russell," he laughed shaking it. "Sorry about that. My daughter is still learning subtlety."

"Well apparently I need to join the class then if she could see that," she joked.

"Well, Let's eat then shall we?" he said.

"Yeah!" Faith cheered.

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Now I know this one was a little less interesting but next chapter reveals Lacey and Faith's past. Hope you guys like it. :)


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys! New Longer chapter that I hope you really like.

* * *

After what seemed like forever, Russell finally got Faith tucked into bed and Angela out the door. He was now able to tell Ms. Swan what she came here to find out. "I think she's finally out for the count," he told her.

She smiled at that. "So, there were a few things that I need to talk to you about," she started seriously.

"If she didn't give you the key to her code I can get you one quickly," he told her.

"No, no. I got it. Thank you for that," she said. "I am concerned with her not only her grades but also her social skills. Mr. French ..."

"Gold ," he corrected. "I am unrelated to the French s. Faith wanted to hold onto the name for Belle."

"Sorry," she apologized. "Mr. Gold , Faith used to have straight A's. Now she's getting C's and very close to D's. She's often distracted and inattentive. Not only that, but she has no friends. She sits and watches the other kids play or will write in her note book. Now I believe part of that problem was Belle or her biological parents, but I can't help her if I don't know."

Russell sighed. He hated telling this story. Most everybody knew what happened because it was such a small town. Plus everybody knew Belle at one point or another. The only way Faith was gonna make sense to Ms. Swan was if he told her the entire story. "Well Ms. Swan, to understand this you need to know the whole story. From Belle to Faith. You're gonna want to settle in. You'll be here for a while."

Emma settled into one of the chairs as did he. She nodded to tell him she was ready.

"Colette Hemmimgsway and Moe French were not very responsible when they were young. Colette became pregnant at the end of their Senior year. They got married a few weeks after they graduated. Moe went to work as soon as he could and Colette stayed home with the baby. That baby was Belle French . The sweetest person you would meet.

Moe and Colette could barely keep afloat. They were behind on rent, they were often cold and it was not uncommon that Belle would go to bed hungry. As soon as Belle turned 13, she had to find a job so she could help the family. Belle saved up as much as she could get for college. Every dime, nickel and penny went in there. She graduated Valedictorian and won a scholarship to California Tech and Prep and was on her way as fast as she could go. She always said that when she grew up that she was not gonna end up like her parents. Well the end of the year came and guess what happened. All her money fell through at the bank. She was penniless. It was only because of her friend Ellis she was even able to come home.

The minute before she was about to board the plane she got a call from the hospital. Her mom had just gone into labor. Belle didn't even know that her mom was pregnant. You can imagine the shock. She arrived at the hospital ten minutes after her baby sister was born. That baby was Faith French .

When Belle first held Faith she promised her that she was not going to have the life that she had. She was gonna do everything possible to give her the best life that she could. She got a job at Hailman's Burgers and worked hard to make good on her promise to Faith. She wasn't able to finish college or fulfill her dream of traveling around the world. After a while she finally was able to get a better paying job of being a Librarian.

Faith loved Belle more than anyone else in the world. Some people say her first word was Belle. She and Belle did everything together. She'd get Faith to and from school everyday. The reason they have that children's section in the library is because Belle convinced town hall to put it in so kids like Faith could have a place to play and read when their parents couldn't be with them. Belle would have storytimes, puppet shows and movie nights set up throughout the week just so she could be with Faith. She helped Faith with homework, friends and even how to make lunch. The two came up with a secret code together and used it whenever they could."

"That's why she writes the way she does," Emma realized. He nodded. "So wait, what happened to her parents?" she asked.

"It was a good thing that Faith was so attached to Belle," he continued. "Because when she was six years old Moe and Colette told them they were going to finally have their honeymoon in Monte Carlo. Belle was in charge of Faith until they returned. Well apparently that meant forever because they never came back. Belle hated her parents after that, and she didn't hate anyone. Everyone knew that it was for the best. Belle was a far better parent than Colette and Moe could have ever been."

"So what happened to her? Did she follow in her parents footsteps?" Emma asked.

"Never," Russell said sternly. "Belle wasn't like that. She'd never abandon the people that she loved. A couple of years ago, Faith had been invited to a sleepover by one of her friends. Had she not have gone, she and Belle would've had dinner and headed straight home."

"But she did go," Emmagathered. "She blames herself for the whatever happens next doesn't she?"

"She does," he confirmed. "She went to the sleepover. Belle called me up and asked me if I wanted to go on a walk around town with her. I said sure. It was late at night. We were walking along the harbor. Some sailors came up to us obviously drunk. They started harassing her and I told them to get lost. Well instead they grabbed Belle. I tried to fight them off but one of them knock me unconscious with their drink, but not before the last thing I saw was Belle screaming my name so afraid that I was gonna die. I called out to her but before I could do anything, I blacked out."

Emma gasped. The story was so sad. Both those girls had gone through so much. To have Belle be torn away like that was unimaginable.

"When I came to, I was in a hospital. Faith found me on the docks after her sister didn't come to pick her up from her sleepover. I told the police everything I knew. When I told Faith that Belle didn't abandon her like her mom and dad, she told me that she knew that. That she knew Belle would never abandon her."

Emma was tearing up at that point. She couldn't believe the faith that little girl had in her sister. She guessed that's why her name was Faith.

"A year later someone found her in Pennsylvania. The problem was... they had found her dead on the side of the road. A few weeks after, we were told that since Faith had no suitable parent alive that she would be placed in the foster system. That was one battle that family wasn't going to lose as well. As soon as the funeral was over, we headed to the courthouse and I adopted Faith without a second thought. So Ms. Swan, If you want to blame someone, don't ever blame Belle for it. You can blame her parents and those sailors."

Emma was about to lose any control she had over not crying. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know she was dead. They never said she was dead. They made it seem as if she had left or had gone somewhere. I am so sorry."

"Hey," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. Like you said, you didn't know."

Emma sniffled and stood up. "I think it's time I go home. It's late and I have to teach tomorrow. So I will see you later?"

"Yeah, sure," he told her. He made sure she knew he wasn't mad at her. Honestly, who would've known unless they'd known her. He bid her good-night and went to his own bed. Tonight, he prepared himself for the nightmares that were sure to come.

* * *

It was dark and cold. One could hardly feel their toes when only given a light blanket and had just a t-shirt and jeans with worn out shoes. The sea breezes could freeze a small bird or possibly a kitten. After being there for at least two years, one would think that you'd've caught hypothermia or'd've given up by then. But not this one. This one wasn't going to be here much longer. This one had a plan to get out. A plan to run. A plan to make it home. It was almost time.

"Belle French ," the guard called. She stepped forward and held her cell bars. "Your time has come."

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AHHH! R&R Please


	9. Chapter 9

Hey so it's another Faith chapter but we have a new OC character that I hope you like. Onward!

* * *

Faith walked straight to her house that day. She didn't feel like having a cheeseburger. She thought that maybe just taking a walk would help her. It was strange. The entire day just felt off. Like her brain was drowning in something. She didn't quite know exactly, but she figured that that was the reason she was just walking today. The day had moved almost too fast to keep up. Everything ended in the blink of an eye. She took in a deep breath and rounded the corner.

It was a warmer day that day than it had been in a while but you still didn't want to go outside without a jacket. The leaves were swirling around the ground like mini tornados while the birds chirped their symphonies as they were all flying south for the winter.

She was two houses away when she saw Mrs. Kazinski carrying too many groceries for anyone to handle. Mrs. Kazinski was not as young as she'd once been. She had dark brown eyes and her orange hair was cut just above her shoulders. She had a kind smile and a few wrinkles here and there. She was retired and had grandchildren, a couple of them her age. The woman lived in an old house all by herself after her husband had died maybe fifteen years ago. She wasn't quite sure. Faith felt sorry for her. At least she had her dad, Killian and Ms. Swan but Mrs. Kazinski didn't have anyone who lived here.

She looked at the door to the house. Angela was gonna be mad. Then she decided it was more important to help Mrs. Kazinski than to be on time for nothing.

"Hey! Mrs. Kazinski!" she called, as she began running over to her. Mrs. Kazinski stopped and turned her head to look at Faith. "Do you want some help with those?"

"Oh, Yes, Please. These were gonna fall in a few minutes," she told her as Faith took some of the bags from her. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," she told her as they began to walk to Mrs. Kazinski's house. "So are you feeding an army or just stocking up before the winter?" she joked.

"I'm getting things ready for Thanksgiving," she answered. "This year my family is coming up from Georgia to celebrate with me. I think that they finally figured out that I'm getting old," she laughed.

Faith did too. She liked Mrs. K. She knew how to joke around. "That's not all true. You're not that old."

"Ah, I wish. There are some things that keep moving past when they should. I think everyone should stop aging after they hit 35," she told her.

"Sure, but where would we be without the senior discounts?" she smiled.

"True that," she laughed. They chatted for a few more minutes until they got to her house where she invited Faith in for a cookie to which Faith was more than happy to accept. After they'd put away all the groceries, Mrs. Kazinski pulled out the hidden cookie jar from above the refrigerator.

"Thanks Mrs. Kazinski," she said as she pulled out one of the gooey chocolate chip cookies.

"Thank you for your assistance," she smiled. She sighed as she watch Faith eat.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. That sigh wasn't of relief, it was more of loss. She would sigh like that a lot after… well you know.

"You just remind me so much of your sister is all," she told her.

"You knew my sister?" Faith asked curiously. She didn't remember any stories with Mrs. Kazinski in them.

"Oh yes. She was the first person I met when I moved here," she told her. "It was the spring of 1998. Me and my husband, Tim, had finally arrived here and were beginning to unpack some of our boxes when all of a sudden this thirteen year old girl comes from out of nowhere and asked me if I'd hired movers to help us. I told her no and realized that we had no way of moving any of our heavy stuff upstairs or some of it in general. She told me to give her about fifteen minutes and she would be back. Well about fifteen minutes later she came back with five strong guys about twice her size, three other kids and about four moms with some food. I was confused beyond belief that this little girl had managed to get all of those people to help. One of the guys came up and said, "Belle here said that you guys needed some help moving in. If you tell us where you want things, we would be more than happy to help you guys." We were unpacked and moved in within about two days and ended up knowing a good chunk of the people here. It was all because a sweet little girl took time out of her Saturday to help two complete strangers."

Faith always loved hearing stories about her sister. It made her feel that much closer to her. "That sounds exactly like her."

"I'd see her around town, always asked how she was doing and she'd do the same. I would like it if we could do it too," she told her.

"Sure thing," Faith approved. She looked at the clock. It was seven forty. "Oh shoot," she began to quickly gather her jacket and head for the door. "Hey, I gotta run but I'll see you around okay?"

"Wouldn't miss it. Bye dear. Say hi to your dad for me," she called.

"I will. Bye," and with that, she dashed to her house.

Scene 11

Faith ran as fast as her little legs could carry her. She knew that Angela had probably sent out a search party by now and that any tv she was able to watch would be taken away by her dad. She burst through the front to find her dad on the phone.

"Nevermind officer she just came in the door. So sorry to bother you. Yes, of course. Thanks again. Yeah bye," he hung up the phone quickly and opened his arms towards her. "Faith," he sighed.

"Dad," she returned and leaped into his arms. He held her tight afraid to let go of her.

"Where were you? You scared me half to death," he admitted.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was on my way home when I saw Mrs. Kazinski having trouble with her groceries so I helped her. Then she offered me a cookie and she told me the story of how she met Belle. I didn't realize how late it had gotten and by the time I got here, you were on the phone. I swear I didn't mean to be more than five minutes."

"Hey, It's okay," he told her. "I would've done the same thing. Next time just let me or Angela know beforehand so we are not completely going crazy looking for you. I already lost your sister. I don't want to lose you too okay?"

"You got it," she promised.

"Good. Now go wash up for supper. I picked us up some spaghetti and meatballs on the way home from work," he told her.

"Sweet!" she said and rushed over to the sink.

Russell sighed. He knew that was exactly what Belle would've done too. He knew the story Mrs. Kazinski told Faith pretty well. After all, he was one of the children. He'd've done anything that girl asked him to. She had him wrapped around her finger. But if it had to be anyone, he was glad it was her. He shook his head smiling and went to go join his daughter for dinner.

* * *

Faith was up in bed. She couldn't sleep. It wasn't because of anything bad at all; she was just too happy to. If that made any sense. She was thinking about Mrs. K and Belle. Then she remembered what Ms. Swan said about writing letters to Belle. 'Why not,' she thought. She went over and grabbed some paper and a pencil and sat down at her desk.

Dear Belle,

Today I helped out Mrs. Kazinski with her groceries. She's super nice. She said I reminded her of you. She told me the story of when she first met you. It sounded just like you to help her out like that. Oh, my teach, Ms. Swan, is our new substitute teacher until Mrs. Blanchard-Nolan comes back. She's nice but kinda lonely. Hopefully Killian will change that for her. One word. Sparks. When they first saw each other it looked like one of those cheesy rom-coms we used to watch. Guess it's not so crazy after all. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on that. Talk to you later. Love you,

Love,

Faith

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Hope you enjoyed it! Belle's up next guys! See you next chapter! :)


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys! Belle's back! Hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Belle was being escorted by two silent and burly guards to… well she didn't know exactly. She'd been living, if you could call it that, in some big building, maybe an abandoned jail place or ward? on some harbor that she didn't know. Ever since she'd been taken she'd been put to work in just about any situation that needed to be taken care of. Whether it was cleaning or serving or any other demeaning task. She wondered where she was going this time.

They were rounding a corner when one of the alarms went off. 'Someone's trying to escape,' she thought. 'Please, let them make it.' She was pulled from her thoughts when one of the guards jerked her closer to him.

"Go. I'll make sure she gets to where she's going," he told the other one. "It's not like she can do anything," he laughed. Belle frowned as the other one laughed as well and took off. The first guard looked around for something oddly. "Come on," he told her. He started running, dragging poor Belle behind.

"Whoa! Where are you taking me?!" she asked him.

"Shh. Or they'll hear you," he told her quietly.

"What are you talking about?!" she whispered.

"I'm getting you out of here," he whispered back.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"Because," he began as he stopped them, checking the corridors, keeping them on the move. "I've watched you. You are so considerate of the other people in here, even the guards. You don't deserve this. He wasn't right to do this to you. So I'm doin' the right thing for him." He unlocked the door and opened it. Belle stared out at what was only a dream to her. It was nighttime. There weren't any lights except for the street lamps that lit a path to her freedom. It was possibly the most beautiful thing she'd seen.

She turned to the guard. She had tears of joy in her eyes. Quickly, she wrapped her arms around him and said while crying, "Thank you. Thank you so much."

The guard returned her hug. After a few moments he took out a brown sweater like jacket that was probably the warmest thing she'd seen in two years from his chest pad. "Can't have you freezing to death after this mess," he laughed as he put it on her. "Now you be safe, don't talk to strangers and stay out of the lights at night. Ya got that?"

"I will," she promised. "Thank you. For everything."

"Go before they see you," he said before he almost pushed her out the door.

She waved good-bye and ran.

"Man I hope that girl makes it," he hoped aloud.

* * *

Belle was running and running as fast as she could go. Her legs burned but she kept pushing. She ran all the way to some city. It looked like any major city looked. Brightly lit buildings, busy streets, cars honking annoyed at traffic and people that were too busy being on there phones to notice a scared and lost girl.

At this point she stopped running and began walking and looking around. She saw someone sitting on a park bench and went over to talk to him. "Excuse me?" she asked trying to get his attention. He turned to face her. He was an older guy, maybe 60 or so. He was a dark African American man with white curly hair, tiered blue eyes and had an expression of consideration upon looking at her. Wondering whether or not he should help her. "Hi, my name's…" she started, trying to think of an alias to use. "Lacey," she picked. "I'm lost. Can you tell me where I am please?"

His expression softened. He could see the fear in her eyes. "Relax kid," he told her. "You're in Jackson California."

"California?" she gasped. That was on the other side of the States. Then it hit her. She knew who took her.

"You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost," he said.

"Oh, uh, kinda. I'm, uh, I'm, I'm just really far from home is all," she said.

"Where's that?" he asked.

"Maine," she answered.

"Sheeshk, that's far," he said. "How'd ya end up here?"

"That's something I still don't quite know," she partially lied.

"Well, there's an airport about twenty miles away," he offered.

"Too expensive," she said. "Actually anything would be too…" she stopped because when she put her hands in her pockets she felt something in both of them. She pulled them out. Shocked to find two giant rolls of cash with rubber bands holding them both together. She quickly stuffed them back in her sweater. "Well maybe not as impossible as I thought a couple of seconds ago."

"You really didn't know those were there did you?" he confronted.

"I swear if I did I never would've pulled them out," she answered him honestly.

"Alright. There is a train depot about five miles that way. But you might first want to get some supplies," he pointed out. He knew. Somehow he knew that she was being honest.

"That is probably a good idea," she said.

"Come on, There's probably a convenience store around the corner," he said getting off the bench.

"Thank you so much Mr…." she stopped, realizing that she didn't know his name.

"Tompson, Isaac Tompson," he told her.

* * *

Belle's got a long trip home. I hope she makes it. Tune in next time for another exciting edition of Letters to Belle.

Please R&R


	11. Chapter 11

Hi guys! This is a slightly smaller chapter than the last one but the journey has just begun!

* * *

Belle followed Isaac to a place called, Shop, Eat and Sleep. Half of it was a diner, half of it was a store and the floor above it was used as a motel. Belle purchased a couple of shirts, pants, shoes and a few other necessities for the road ahead. She also bought a small, cheap side bag for holding the money, clothes and anything she came into possession of. She had just gotten a kids cheeseburger from Eat and sat down to eat with Isaac. She nearly gagged on the burger it was so bad.

"Not so good huh?" he chuckled.

"I have to admit, I have tasted better burgers before. I worked at a diner once a long time ago and they made the best cheeseburgers you've ever tasted," she told him. Man had she missed Hailman's. She missed everything there. The town, the people, Russell, Faith. Oh no. What had happened to them. Was Faith okay? Where was she? Was Russell even alive? Last she saw he was lying unconscious on the pavement.

Isaac must've noticed her staring at the burger because he then said, "You got any family?"

She nodded. "I've got a younger sister. Her name's Faith. She's… I actually don't know where she is. She was young enough where she could've been put in foster care maybe an orphanage. I made her a promise when she was born that I was gonna give her the life she deserved. She deserves much better than that."

"So Hope and Faith. Your parents have a thing for that?" he teased.

"What parent?" she asked, her voice slightly cold. "The ones that couldn't pay rent because they couldn't live without alcohol, the ones that forgot to pick me up after school, ooh, the ones that sent me to bed hungry because there was no food or how 'bout the ones that decided not to tell me I had was getting a little sister 25 years after I was born? The ones that couldn't take care of her either, the ones that pretty much depended on me to do everything for or the ones that went to Monte Carlo and never came back." She nearly choked her hamburger to death as she went on about them. She took a deep breath and let the anger go. "I'm so sorry. I can usually talk about them better, but tonight is just a little tougher than most. The only good thing that came from them was Faith. She is the sweetest little girl you'll ever meet."

"Well there was you too," he told her.

She smiled at him, "Thank you."

"So what about a husband, boyfriend maybe? A pretty gal like you must have men crawling for you."

She laughed. "There was somebody," she started. "He was my first love. Russell. He was a gentleman. Always opened doors for me, offered me his jacket and he always made sure that both me and Faith had everything we needed. Whether it was a hot meal or a bed to sleep on. I loved him. I still do. After all this time. Two years later and I still love him. Last time I saw him though he was in the hospital and not doing well." The last bit was a lie but she couldn't tell him that he was left for dead because she was kidnapped and he tried to save her.

"Is that why you left?" he asked.

"Believe me that was the last reason I would've left. I never wanted to turn into my parents and I never did. No, I was forced to leave in the middle of the night. Without even saying good-bye. Something from my past found me and I had to deal with it. It was safer for them not to know than to get involved," she told him. "Now it's dealt with, and I can finally head towards home."

"I'm glad to hear it. Tonight we'll rest but tomorrow we get you on that train," he said as he raised his burger.

"I'll eat to that," she laughed as they clinked their burgers together and took a bite. Belle immediately spit it out into her napkin. "Oh yeah," she laughed. "That's bad. I think it's even worse the second time around." They laughed for a bit and retired to their rooms. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day.


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys! Chapter 12 is up and I hope you like it. :)

* * *

Emma had been watching Faith more as the days went on. She had been more distracted lately than she'd been in a while. It was recess and she moved over to where Faith was sitting and sat down next to her. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," Faith returned with a small smile.

"I was wondering if I could walk you walk home today?" she asked.

"Sure but I need to make a couple of stops along the way," she told her.

"Sure thing," she agreed.

* * *

Emma followed Faith as she lead her to a flower shop. "Hey Mr. Karp," Faith said as she entered the store.

"Hey Faith," he acknowledged. "The usual today?"

"Yep," she concurred. "$5.25 right?"

"You know it," he said. He pulled out two flowers and Faith handed him the cash.

"What kinds are those?" Emma asked.

"Belle's favorite, a calla lily, and my favorite, a snowbell," she told her.

"Cool," she said.

"Anything for the young lady today?" he asked.

"Not for me today, thank you," she apologized.

"Alright then. Have a good day," he bade farewell.

"You too. Bye," Faith said as she and Emma exited the store.

"So where are we going next?" Emma asked.

"To see Belle."

* * *

The graveyard wasn't creepy like most. There weren't any birds cawing or lightning flashing from a distance. It was sort of peaceful. Like you knew that wherever they ended up that they were okay. The tombstones were all lined up in their rows while pretty flowers decorated the entire area. It was small and surrounded by trees on three sides.

Faith held Emma's hand as they walked to Belle's grave. Her tombstone was small and a solid grey color. The engravings wrote out, Belle Joy French . Beloved sister, daughter and cherished friend. "Home is not a place. It's the people you call your family. And I'm not about to let them down."

Emma gave Faith's hand a small squeeze to provide comfort in someway. She looked up and returned the squeeze as she looked back at the grave. It was supposed to be a peaceful trip for Faith. The expression on her face however said otherwise. She looked angry and like she wanted to punch something. "What'cha thinkin' about?" she asked gently as she squatted down to her height.

"This is all wrong," she told her. "It's not supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be here. She was supposed to walk me to school this morning. She was supposed to hold my hand when we went to go get ice cream. She should be giving me a hug when she first sees me. She's supposed to tell me that she loves me every night before I go to bed."

Faith had been trying to hold the tears back for as long as she could but she couldn't do it any longer. She put her arms around Emma's neck and cried. Emma pulled her closer and wrapped her arms around her. She held her slowly rubbing her back letting Faith know that she was there for her.

"The worst part is," Faith started. "I know she can't. I will never be loved like that again. She's gone. And she can't come back. But I need her. I need her to tell me she loves me and it's gonna be okay. That I'm not alone. Like she promised I would never be." She sniffled.

Emma just held her and tried to console her. She knew that the bond between Faith and Belle was strong but this was almost amazing. Emma didn't say much to her. She occasionally whispered that she was okay or that she was safe. She wasn't going to try to make it better because this wasn't the time for that. It was a time to grieve. To let the weight of her emotions off her shoulders and be able to stand tall again.

After a little while Faith's crying subsided and she slowly slipped out of the embrace but still held Emma's hand. "Belle used to sing to me before I fell asleep at night. Sometimes it was one thing or another but her favorite song to sing was _As Long as I Have You_. I always loved hearing that song. I think it made Belle feel safe too," she told her.

"Why do think that is?" Emma asked.

"Belle didn't tell me much about when she grew up," she started, "other than the good memories. I knew though that she didn't tell me the bad ones. My mother and father were not the greatest people in the world. I'm pretty sure that Belle felt alone a lot. That's why she was always with me. She wanted to make sure that I would never be, like she was."

"Do you still remember the words?" Emma asked.

"Of course I do," she smiled.

"Could you sing it to me?" she asked.

Faith nodded and began to sing. The little nine year old had the voice of an angel. It was soft and gentle, full and rich, strong and beautiful. Emma felt as if the words she was singing had taken her to another planet. One where all of our worries were left behind. Where you could forget about them and never have to come back. It was breathtaking. When Faith had finished, she turned to look up at Emma. She smiled back and gave her hand a small squeeze. They both knew that it was time to go. They turned silently away and headed back. They didn't need words to know how the other was feeling. They both knew in their hearts that neither of them was alone.

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Let me know what you think. Don't forget to R&R please :)


	13. Chapter 13

It's Belle's turn again! Enjoy guys. Remember to review. Thanks so much for the support guys it means the world to me. :)

* * *

Belle was humming quietly to herself as she waited for Isaac to come back with the tickets. She was sitting on one of the benches in the large open area. It reminded her of a log cabin type of style. People passed her by without a concern or a "Hello" but that didn't really bother Belle so much today. Today was just one of those days where she felt like all her thoughts was drowning. It was like she could see the light above the water but didn't have the strength to get there.

"Hey come back here!"

Belle turned to see a mother trying to wrangle up her little boy. The boy was about five years old she guessed.

She remembered Faith at that age. She was the light in her world reminding her that the world wasn't as dark as it looked sometimes. There had been so many times that she had wondered what the point was when every time she seemed to be on top the world ripped it all away. Then she would see Faith and Russell waiting for her with their arms open wide; ready to embrace her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

That's how she had managed to get through the last two years. Because of the belief they had in her and she wasn't going to let them down. She had to make it home. Not just for them but for herself as well. She needed them. Now more than ever.

"You all set?" Isaac asked her. She whipped her head around in a brief moment of shock from not having heard him approach.

She let out a sigh of relief and looked back at the mother and son one last time before answering, "More than ever."

"Let's go then. We've got a long ride ahead of us and need to get moving if you want to get home," he told her.

"Wait, you said us. You're coming too?" she asked.

"Just until we hit Bricksbin. Then we'll have to part," he told her as she rose and began to follow him.

"What's in Bricksbin?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Then why do you want to go there?" she asked.

"I'm not. I'm just making sure that you don't have problems for when you switch trains," he told her. He sounded a teeny bit annoyed at her. She knew though that it wasn't her. It was something deeper than just her switching trains. She just needed to figure out what.

They boarded the train. It was one of those older model tank engine trains. It was an old black engine that reminded her of the one in _The Polar Express_. There were five cars attached to it. A sleeping, dining, 2 passenger cars and a baggage car. The insides were a cream color outlined in gold making it feel magical. They took their seats and watched as the town started leaving them.

One of Belle's hidden dreams was to ride a train just like this. On the tracks watching as the world sped by with all of its beauty. Letting her forget all her worries. She and Russell were going to take Faith last year during the summer but being kidnapped did have a tendency to derail those plans.

Isaac was sitting in one of the plush seats across from her; looking out the window like she had been. He looked like he was longing for something too. Someone close to him. It also looked like he would never see them again.

"Who did you lose?" she asked gently.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"I wore that same expression when I thought I would never see my family again either," she confessed. "Who was it?"

He looked guarded and wasn't going to tell her. Like the whole world was his enemy. Then it broke. The walls came crumbling down as he let go. "My son."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"He's not dead. He left," he said flatly.

Belle felt a pang in her heart. It was ripping her heart open. It felt like the day she realized that her parents weren't coming back. She hated them for it but she still loved them and grieved for them with Faith.

Faith was hurt badly by the truth but it made her so much stronger. After they Moe and Colette had left Belle had been given full custody of Faith and finally got her out of that broken down house into their own. She only hoped that whoever had her was taking care of her like she deserved.

"He was twelve years old," Isaac continued. "I was a drunk and abusive father. All I cared about was my next drink and card game. It was late. I was more drunk than usual. I yelled for someone to get me a beer. My son, he said, "Daddy, please, no more. I need my daddy back. He's hurting. Please, Daddy, no more." I didn't listen. I told him that he wasn't coming back. That that man was dead and never coming back. I told him to get me a beer. He did. When I woke up the next morning I found a note on one of the bottles. It said,

"To my daddy,

I miss you daddy. I love you and want you to come back. But I can't keep getting hurt any more. No more. I will come back when you do too. Good-bye daddy. I love you."

I woke up that day. I realized what I had done. I didn't deserve him. He was so loving even when I wasn't. I turned my life around. I went to rehab, joined groups, I did whatever it took to be a man worthy of his son. I tried to find him four years later. I searched and scoured the earth for him but I never found him. He was gone in the blink of an eye. I never saw him again."

Belle moved and sat in the seat next to him and hugged him. He accepted her hug instantaneously and hugged her back.

"You know," he started still sniffling a bit. "This is the first hug I've had in decades."

"It's been a long time for me too," she realized. It had been two years since she had given or received a hug. It was something that she had only dreamed about. Being hugged by Russell and Faith had been a daily occurrence for her for so long. Then it had all been stripped away in minutes. It felt so good to be hugged again. It was like the fatherly hugs she'd never gotten.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys! Chapter 14 is up! Enjoy

* * *

Faith and Emma were seated in a booth at the diner waiting for their hamburgers. Faith was hoping that Killian would finally ask Emma to the town ball. She'd been watching them make doey eyes and everything else but drooling from the two of them. If he didn't do it on his own today; she was going to do it for them.

"Here we are," he said as he walked over to them with their food. "One plain with secret extra fries for Faith and one lettuce, ketchup, tomato, onions and pickles for Ms. Swan."

Emma blushed. Though honestly, she always blushes around Killian. It was hard to ignore his charming smile and his attention to detail. That was probably how he was with everyone she supposed. "Thank you," she said. "It looks delicious."

"I hope so," he told her. "So Ms. French, have you thought about going to the ball at all this year?"

"I was hoping to go with dad this year. Hopefully he'll be up for it this year," she told him. ' _Good start. Come on, keep the ball rolling,'_ she thought.

"What about you Ms. Swan?" he asked. "Are you going? It's really cool. It only comes around once a year so I'd suggest doing it while you can."

"I thought about going but I'd have no one to talk to. I'm still pretty new around here and I've been so busy I forgot to make some friends. I'd be just standing there awkward the entire night," she told him.

"Nonsense," he told her. "You'd be the talk of the ball. Everyone would want to meet you." He could see that she still didn't think that that would be true. He knew it though. Come on, she was a beautiful girl who just came to Storybrooke . She was mysterious. Any guy would take his chances on her. Come to think of it, that might not be so great. What if she met someone she liked. It was a magical place where anything could happen. "Tell you what. How about you go with me. Make sure you wouldn't be alone."

Emma was surprised. Did she just get asked on a date? He said go with him but he also said so she wouldn't be alone not 'would you want to go with me' in a date sense. Either way, it was better than spending the night on her couch doing nothing. "Um, sure. Why not?"

"Great," Killian said. This might be his chance to make a move. A dance, a conversation, anything to do with her would be something he'd be interested in. "Can I pick you up at six?"

"Six works for me," she answered.

"Pick her up at my place," Faith said. "I think we should have a girls day before the ball together."

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," Emma laughed. "Does that work for you?"

"Absolutely," he agreed. "So I will see you then?"

"See you then," she answered and he left to do other things.

"Oooh, This is gonna be great!" Faith squealed. "I can hardly wait. We've got stuff to do. We gotta pick out a dress, do our nails, Oh my gosh this is gonna be so great."

* * *

Russell walked inside the front door. He was tired and worn out from a long day at the office. Everybody needed everything and they all wanted it now. He looked down at his watch. It was nine-thirty. He was too late tonight. He hated the fact that Faith would have to tuck herself in at night sometimes. No child should have to do that. Then again, no child should have to lose the closest thing they had to a mother. He set his stuff down and went upstairs to see Faith before he went to sleep himself.

Faith was sprawled out on her messy bed with her notebook and pencil not far from her hands. He chuckled lightly at the sight and began to move her under the covers. Faith was a heavy enough sleeper so she wouldn't wake up while he moved things around. Once she was settled in, he gave her a small kiss on her forehead, whispered good night and quietly closed the door behind him.

Russell was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow. He was ready for a good night's sleep and man did he need one. For the past couple of nights he'd either gotten home at an indecent hour or had been kept up by nightmares. For whatever reason the nightmares were becoming more and more frequent lately which bothered him. He'd been thinking that maybe he should talk to John Mackner, the psychiatrist, maybe he he could help him. But tonight would be peaceful for him. At least until he woke up.

* * *

Let me know what you think. Review please. :)


	15. Chapter 15

Hey! Chapter 15's up! Yada, yada, yada, Review, yada, yada, yada, Enjoy!

* * *

Belle and Isaac were waiting at the train station for the train switch. Belle was getting restless so she decided to take a walk around the train station to burn off some energy. As she was walking she saw a boy huddled in a corner with nothing but a backpack, a duffle bag and a jacket. He looked to be about 14, 15 maybe 16. He looked so frightened. It was like he was scared of even looking at anyone. He was clutching something so tightly his knuckles were sheet white.

She sat down next him and hugged her knees close to her body. The boy looked up at her. His eyes were red probably from crying. She wondered why. He seemed like a good kid. Maybe a little lost but not bad. He quickly looked back at his hand when she saw him.

"I'm going to Maine," she said sympathetically. "Where are you headed to?"

He looked back at her. He was struggling to pull himself together enough to spit out a sentence. "Uh, I… I don't kn-know really," he sobbed. "I d-don't know w-what t-to do or w-where to g-go."

Belle enveloped the young boy in a hug which he quickly returned. He started to just let himself cry on her shoulder. She rubbed his back like she use to do with Faith whenever she cried.

"I'm… I'm so sorry," he tried to apologize. "I … I don't usually do this sort of thing." he tried to laugh but it just came out sad.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" she asked.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone if I tell you," he said. His voice was strong for the first time.

"Alright," she said.

He slipped out of her hug and sat back against the corner. "I did something that I'm not proud of," he started. "My dad just left us. He was a dead beat cheater for sure but he was also the one that brought home the money.

My mom caught him one night sleeping with his secretary and they got into this giant argument. My mom wanted to fix things but my dad just walked out on us. I started failing school and people started to pick on me. I tried to stand up for myself but that just got me into fights which landed me in the principal's office. They suspended me. I couldn't keep making my mom suffer. So I packed my bags and I ran away. I didn't have any money so I took something. My mom's wedding ring," he told her as he showed her the small diamond ring he'd been clutching in his hand. "I know what I did was wrong. I know I just hurt mom more. But I can't go back. I can't keep hurting her."

Belle pulled him back into a hug when he started to cry again. This poor kid was so scared and alone. It hurt her heart. "You know I ran away once too."

"You did?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I was ten years old at the time. My family was struggling to come up with our rent so I thought that if I wasn't around that they would have enough money and I wouldn't be such a problem. I didn't get very far. I was sitting at the bus station with my backpack and my suitcase when my friend found me. He asked me what I was doing and I told him. He told me that if my parents thought I was a problem that they would've told me. Plus I had to stay. He told me I was his best friend and that I had to stay. Do you have a best friend?"

"Nick. My best friend Nick. He was always there for me," he told her.

"He sounds like a good guy. Dude your mom and Nick need you. I know it's scary and you have no idea what's gonna happen but man, you just gotta do it. I know that your mom will forgive you because you're doing something your dad couldn't do. Try and come home," she told him.

"You really think she will?" he asked.

"I do," she confirmed.

He shook his head and looked at the ground for a second before returning to to her with a smile. "I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna go home and do it."

She gave him a quick hug and asked, "Well what are you waiting for? Go!"

"I will. Thank you," he said. He started to leave.

"Oh! Wait!" she called. He stopped and turned around. "I almost forgot. I have an odd request for you. When you get home, can you mail me a letter with the words, To Faith, Hope's coming back. Hold on to it a little while longer. Here," she wrote her address down on his arm.

"I will. I promise you. Bye!" he called as he started running home. Running home. That was what she was doing too. She could feel the change in the air. Things were looking up.

"Lacey! Come on! We gotta go!" Isaac shouted.

"Coming!" she responded as she dashed over.

* * *

Faith came home from school and went to get the mail. She started to flip through them all. "Bills, bills, magazine, letter for Faith French. Wait a second." she pulled the letter into view again. Sure enough the crisp white envelope was addressed to her. From someone named Richard Carrington in Ellington Nevada. She quickly opened the letter to read it.

Dear Hope,

Thank you so much for making me go home. I was so scared that I was going to be a failure like my dad. But when I got home, my mom came down and started to cry. I was sure she was going to yell at me. Then in a split second she gave me the biggest hug I've ever gotten. She told me that This was the happiest moment of her life. To have her son come home and fight for this family. She told me that I proved that I was nothing like my dad. Just like you said. Thank you so much. I would never have been able to do this without you. And just as you asked.

To Faith, Hope's coming back. Just hold on for a bit longer.

From,

Richard Carrington

P.S. My mom is planning on sending you a Christmas card this year just so you know.

Faith didn't quite understand but it had mentioned her specifically. But who was Hope? And who was Richard Carrington? This was interesting to say the least.


	16. Chapter 16

**It's the ball! It's the ball! It's the ball! Long chapter that I hope you like. :)**

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Emma was sitting down in front of Faith's vanity. She was wearing a beautiful light blue dress that had lines of beads on the top portion, that met each other in the center of a tank top and the skirt easily spread out when she would twirl. Faith was brushing her hair.

"You look like Cinderella," Faith praised.

She laughed and thanked her. Faith was right. Emma swore she felt like a princess in that moment, getting ready for the ball and waiting for her prince. "You look like a princess too," she told her.

Faith was wearing a pretty white dress with glittery red sleeves that continued to the center of the neckline. Her hair was curled and left down with a pretty headband made of tiny silk flowers. She giggled and sat down on her bed. "So, what do you think of Killian ?"

The question caught Emma off guard. She really did like Killian . She just wasn't sure if she was ready to say it aloud. After her last boyfriend, she didn't want to get her heart broken again so soon. "Well I think he's very nice," she said. That much was obvious. From the moment they met he had been nothing but kind to her. Unlike anyone she'd met. "What about you?" she asked trying to change the subject. "Is there anyone you fancy?"

"Not yet," she said. "But I do want something like Belle and Dad had. I just have to wait and be patient."

"Good plan," Emma told her. Faith was about to continue when the doorbell rang.

"He's here!" Faith squealed and rushed down the stairs.

Emma stood up and smoothed her dress out. This was it. Cinderella's countdown had begun.

* * *

Killian walked up to Russell's door. The pit in his stomach was growing. It wasn't a bad feeling of guilt or going to throw up. It was probably just his nerves and the millions of butterflies fluttering inside.

He checked the corsage he was hiding behind his back. It was a dark red rose with those little tiny white flowers, that nobody knows the name of, surrounding it. He wasn't sure if this was what is normally done, but it was Emma's first ball, so he wanted to make it special. He checked his tux one more time and rang the doorbell.

It was answered quickly as Faith appeared in the doorway. "Hi Killian!" she greeted enthusiastically. She was wearing a very cute dress and headband that made her look absolutely adorable. "Come on in. Emma will be down in a second," she finished and pulled him inside where Russell was sitting on the sofa.

"Wonderful," he said and turned towards Russell. "Hey man. How's it going?"

"Great," he told him. "I got the night off so I can dance the night away with my little girl." He pulled Faith close to him as she giggled.

"Alright," Emma said as she stood at the top of the stairs clasping the final diamond stud earring. "I'm all… set." She had paused when she saw him.

His jaw went slack when he saw her. She was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Her hair framed her face perfectly as the dress did for her figure. She took his breath away. "Wow," he said amazed but not surprised, as she started to descend the staircase. "You look amazing."

"You clean up well yourself," she smiled.

His heart raced at her words. He gracefully pulled out the corsage from behind his back as he said, "This is for you."

Her smile grew bigger as it came into view. "Killian, you didn't have to do that. It's beautiful."

"Of course I did," he said. "This is your first ball. And because you'll never forget it," he continued as he slipped it on her wrist. "I wanted to make sure that it was because it was good."

She blushed, looked down at the corsage and back up to his eyes. "Well, thank you," she said.

"Well, love," he started, offering her his arm. "Shall we?" he asked.

She took it and answered, "Let's."

* * *

The town hall had been converted into a ballroom and sufficed to say, it was absolutely beautiful. The crisp white walls were lined with gold and swirls of cream. The floor was tiled a brilliant blue and white. The chandelier looked like it came out of a movie. In fact the whole place looked that way. Emma swore that the entire night was a fairytale. She just hoped that it didn't end too soon.

The night had begun wonderfully. She talked, danced, had some punch and enjoyed herself more than she had in a while. Right then and there she was standing next to the punchbowl sipping her drink when the latest song ended. Killian came up to her as a slow song began to play.

"Would you care to dance?" he asked her, extending his hand.

"Sure," she answered. Taking his hand, he led her out to the dance floor.

They quickly fell into the two-step with ease. The entire time they moved in total sync. It was like no one else was there.

"So, um," Killian started. "I have been meaning to ask you this for a while but I just needed to find the right time."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Emma, I was wondering… if possibly, you would want to go out on a date with me?" he waited in agony for her response. He really hoped he hadn't messed this up. This was either the worst possible thing he could have done or

"Yes."

He couldn't believe what he'd heard for a minute but then quickly asked, "Really?"

"Yes," she repeated. "I'd love to go out with you."

* * *

The night had gone on perfectly. By about midnight they had deemed it worthy of it being time to go home. Killian had driven her to her house and walked her up to her doorstep. "Tonight was really fun," Emma said.

"Yeah, I can't wait to do it again sometime," he told her.

"Me neither," she laughed.

There was a silence in the air but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was a peaceful one where you could just stand there and know exactly what the other person was thinking. "Well," Killian began. "Good night."

"Good night," she said.

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. She felt instantly a spark of passion ignite in her heart. This time it was her turn to be brave. She cupped his face with her hands and kissed him. The butterflies in their stomachs were immediately gone and replaced with fiery passion neither of them had ever felt before.

The kiss ended after a minute both lightly gasping for oxygen. Both, looking down with goofy grins on their faces, they laughed.

"Well," Killian said. "I will see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," Emma said as she opened the door and he hopped into his car. They both waved good-bye, excited for the possibilities that waited for them tomorrow.

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Review Please. :)


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys! Hope you Enjoy but do **not** forget to reveiw please. 3

Belle had made it to Mayberry Kansas where she and Isaac had to switch to a bus system. This was probably their seventh train switch in the past eleven days they'd been traveling. She was sore and aching from all the sitting she'd been doing. Her back was killing her to stand up and her legs felt weak but she knew that it would be worth it to make it back home. Back to Faith and maybe even Russell.

The bus pulled up to the station and people came flooding out. "Time to go," Isaac told her as he stood up and walked inside. He had somehow been managing far better than she had. Though how was a mystery all on it's own.

"Coming," she said as she stood up. Pain shot through her everytime she took a step. As her foot hit the top of the step, her legs gave out and she tumbled down onto the hard metal of the bus.

"Oh my gosh!" a lady yelled and came rushing over to her. "Are you okay?" she asked more frightened than Belle was.

"I'm, I'm fine," she told her. "I just tripped on the step, that's all," she lied trying to soothe the woman.

The woman saw her knees through the holes in the cheap jeans she'd bought. "You're knees are bruised," she informed her. She quickly checked Belle's elbows which were now bruised as well. "So are your elbows. Unless you can get something like that in an instant, which you can't, there's something wrong with you. You need to get checked by a hospital."

"Ms, please I'm am alright, I promise you. I've been traveling for a long time and I'm just tired. You know how hard it is to sleep properly on trains and busses," she gave a small laugh trying to put the woman at ease as she stood up. The woman helped her into the seat as the bus driver took off. "Thank you," she told the woman. "What is your name?"

"I'm Elena Fisher," she answered. "What's your name?"

"I'm… Hope," she remembered. She'd nearly forgotten she was on the run from somebody instead of just running to somebody.

"So where are you traveling to?" Elena asked.

"Home," Belle told her. "I've been away for far too long and am finally going home."

"That sounds nice," there was a longing in her voice when she heard Belle's short version of the story. "How long have you been away?"

"Uh, I don't know exactly," she began. "What's the date today?"

"It's December 3rd, 2015," she said.

Belle went almost pale. "Three years," she whispered and stared out at nothing. Three years. Faith was nine years old. She was 32 and didn't even know it. Russell had definitely moved on already. Who wouldn't have. It felt like forever but she'd assumed that it had probably been less than a year. Three years. It was… her mind stopped working. It was like nothing she'd ever felt before.

"Hope? Hope? Hope, please, you're starting to make me worried. What's going on?" she started.

"I thought it was less than that," she whispered. "Three years. I never knew. They haven't known for three years." A tear slipped from her eye. Then another and another until she stopped caring and cried quietly.

"What are you talking about? What's wrong?" Elena asked.

"I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I have just realized how long I've been gone."

Elena reached into her bag and pulled out some tissues. Belle thanked her for them and dried her tears. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that I took an unexpected trip," she told her. "And I couldn't tell them anything at the time." Belle decided that, for her own safety, it'd be better if that were the story.

"I know the feeling," Elena sympathised. "I ran away too. When I was nine. My parents loved me very much. But I hated them for controlling my life. So I ran away. I never looked back until it was too late. If I showed up then it would've hurt them far too much than if I just stayed away. I got married and had two kids along the way but my husband died five years ago. Money's been tight and I would give anything to see my parents again."

Belle waited for a moment before saying, "So do it."

"What?" she asked.

"Pack up your kids. Get them into the car and drive home. Your real home. I can't tell you how much it will mean to all of them. Especially you and your parents. I'd give anything, to have that chance. Unfortunately my parents are never coming back and I may have lost everything. But you… you have a chance. A chance to make things right. A second chance. Take it. Grab it and hold on to it for dear life because your parents will not be here forever. And then it will be gone," Belle told her.

Elena seemed as she'd been shot in the heart. She stared at her for a minute or two. The air dead between the two. "Okay."

Belle smiled at her.

"Okay. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it," she told her. The bus had slowly pulled up to the next station. Elena packed up her stuff and stood up. "Thank you. Thank you so much Hope."

"My pleasure," she said. "Wait do you have a pencil and paper with you?"

"Yeah, here," she said taking it out from her purse. Belle quickly scribbled on the sheet of paper and put it back in Elena's bag.

"Open it once you've said hello to your mom and dad," she told her.

"I will," she promised. "Thank you so much."

"Go, go, go," Belle urged "Bye!"

"Good-bye!" she called back.


	18. Chapter 18

**'Sup' dudes? :) Shorter chapter today but I will post another later today. Enjoy! But don't forget to write your reviews. Thank you so much to BumpleRumple and Actress10 for letting me know that people like this. You guys are the best.**

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Russell walked over to the kitchen where he found Faith writing on a piece of paper. "Whatcha writing?" he asked.

"Homework dad," she told him. "I have to right about an event that happened before I was born."

"So what event are you writing about?" he questioned.

"I'm not sure. So far all I have is, 'An interesting event that happened before I was born was…' and that's it," she told him.

"What type of event was she talking about, major events or,"

"It could be anything," she cut him off. "From the Twin Towers to your parents adopting a pet."

"Okay. What events are you interested in?" he wondered.

She thought for a moment and replied, "Tell me how you and Belle met."

That one kinda surprised him. He and Belle had been friends way before Faith was born. He'd thought Belle had already told her about that day. He hated to bring up the past. More specifically the dead past but Belle wasn't around to tell her and neither were her parents so he was the only one left. "Why do you want to hear about that?" he asked.

"Because it's when true love was born," she answered. Faith had always been a romantic just like Belle. Always looking for love in everything that happened. To them Fairytales were as real as the world itself. It just took a little patience and a few pushes to get them to where they needed to be.

"Alright," he smiled. "A long time ago…"

"No, no, no," she stopped him. "All fairytales start with 'Once upon a time'."

He laughed and restarted. "Once upon a time, there was a six years old boy who was playing on a playground. He was playing around with some of his friends when all of a sudden he heard a scream. A little girl had gotten knocked over by someone swinging on the swing sets.

The little boy rushed over to her and pulled her away from the swings. He asked her if she was okay. The little girl was still crying saying her arm hurt a lot. The little boy got his mom to see if she was okay. It turned out that when the kid kicked the girl; her arm had broken.

They all went to the hospital together and the girl got a really cool purple cast. The little boy wanted to sign her name for her on the cast so he asked her what her name was. She told him her name was Princess Belle and she asked him what his name was. He told her that his name was Sir Russell the dragon slayer. And in that moment, a story was born. One of adventure, loss and true love."

Faith looked like she'd just been told the best fairytale in the entire world. "She really was your true love," she sighed.

He sighed as well but his wasn't of fantasy. It was of loss. Three years later and he still couldn't get over Belle. He'd lost his one true love. No one seemed to be able to fill that void. He'd tried going out on dates but he just ended up feeling worse. "Yeah she was."

* * *

The next day, Faith went out to get the mail again. "Let's see. Bills, Coupons, Case for Dad. Ooh another letter for me!" she quickly tore open the pink envelope and opened it up.

Dear Hope,

I made it to my parents house. You were right. My parents literally cried when I told them who I was. The best part was that they love my kids, Peter and Swan. I'm officially making you their Godmother. Heaven knows you were mine. Thank you so much for giving me that second chance with my parents. This was the best thing I could have ever asked for.

To Faith, Hope's coming back. Just hold on for a bit longer.

Whoever Faith is she is the luckiest girl in the world to have you running home to her.

Love,

Elena Fisher

She still had no idea who Hope was or Elena Fisher, but somehow Hope knew her and was running home to her. Still puzzled she went inside and put the letter with the other one in the notebook she'd been storing with her own letters. She decided to call it her letter book. Then thought it was time to update Belle on her current status.

Dear Belle,

Hey sis! You'll never believe what I got today. I got a letter from someone named Elena Fisher. Both of these letters said, "To Faith, Hope's coming back. Just hold on for a bit longer." I don't know who Hope is though. If you do, send me a sign or something. I love you. I miss you too. I hope you're okay. See ya later,

Love,

Faith


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys. Now I admit this shorter chapter is a little cheesy but if there wasn't any we couldn't laugh or roll our eyes as much, which ever you prefer. Anyways, Enjoy! Also don't forget to review please.**

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Five days later Belle was in Vermont. Two states away from being home. Every hurting step she took, every crammed bus and sleepless night made her smile more. Everything that happened meant she was that much closer to home. To Faith and maybe Russell. She and Isaac were sitting on a bus that would get them to Maryland. She was squished between a very overweight middle aged man and a woman with a crying baby. Isaac sat comfortably next to a window and a woman a seat away from him. Wherever Isaac's luck had come from, she wished she had it right then and there.

She stared out the window at the stars. They were sparse but there were enough to make little constellations. Belle remembered all the midnight dates she and Russell used to have and then showing them to Faith years later. Her memories were starting to slip. It began small with a few pieces of scenery missing but now she could barely remember Russell's voice or Faith's laugh.

She needed to get home fast before it was too late to get them back.

They stopped again. People got on and off, but this time there was a little girl that got on that Belle knew wasn't supposed to be there on her own. The little girl was African American with thick black hair tied into a ponytail, light brown eyes that looked determined and nervous at the same time. She was wearing a dirty white and purple shirt with a big butterfly in the center and worn out jeans. Her blue backpack looked like it was going to explode. Yet there was something awfully familiar about her.

She moved and sat down next to the kid as the bus began to move again. She waited for a few minutes before asking, "So what are you running away from?"

The girl stared wildly at her. "What are you talking about?" she asked nervously. "I'm just going home," she lied.

Belle looked at her carringly, letting her know that it was okay.

The little girl sighed. "Foster Care."

"I see," she said.

"I'm not even supposed be there even. I have a family. They're just missing," she told Belle.

"My parents are missing too," Belle said. That was the truth. She hadn't the foggiest idea of where they were, but everyone had just assumed that they had skipped out on them.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," she confirmed.

"Are you looking for yours too?" she asked.

"I'm looking for a different part of my family," she answered.

"Oh," she seemed to have lost the connection with their parents but a new one seemed to be forming. "I'm trying to find my little sister. She's about your age. I've been gone for three years trying to get back to her."

The little girl now fully trusted her. "Is that what my parents are doing?"

"I don't know for sure, but I would bet on it if you say they're missing," she told her.

"They are. We got separated from each other on the busses. I went on the bus but Mommy and Daddy missed it. The bus went too fast to keep up with them," she explained. "We were going to meet my grandpa for the first time."

"What's your name?" Belle asked.

"Olivia. Olivia Tompson," she answered.

Belle's eyes grew wide. No way. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. Was it? "What is your grandpa's name?"

"I don't remember. It started with an I," she said.

"Was it Isaac?" she asked.

"Yes! That's it!" she said overjoyed. "Isaac Tompson!"

"What?" Isaac asked looking over his shoulder.

"Isaac, this little has something you need to hear," Belle told him.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey Everyone! Were are getting close to the end here. This one is unfortunately much shorter than the other chapters. Actually It's the shortest one of all, but like always, I will post the next chapter later today. Enjoy!**

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Russell was in his car when he felt his phone beginning to buzz in his pocket. "Hello?" he answered.

"Hi, it's Ms. Swan. Is Faith sick today?" she asked a little concerned.

"No, I dropped her off at the bus stop this morning," he answered. "You mean she's not there?"

"No, she never made it to class," she told him. "Mr. Gold , I'm very worried about her."

"You and me both," he said. "I'll check around town. I'll call you when I find her. Let me know if she shows up there okay?"

"Yeah, of course," she quickly assured him. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he said and hung up.

* * *

After about half an hour of searching frantically around town, Russell finally spotted her sitting in the cemetery in front of Belle's grave. He ran to her and picked her up hugging her tightly, letting all of his previous worries go. "Oh, Faith. You had me so worried."

His little girl was crying in his arms. "I'm sorry daddy. I just needed to see her. I didn't mean to make you scared."

"It's okay sweetheart," he said, trying to soothe her and himself at the same time. "I just don't want to lose you like I did Belle." He held her like that for a while before asking her, "Why did you need to see Belle today?"

"I needed to give her my letter," she told him. "I needed to tell her I didn't forget about Family Night."

Family Night was once every year Belle and Faith would pretend that they would go to someplace around the world. Belle would get the library set up with a bunch of stuff for where ever they were going and that would be their vacation for the entire year. It was Faith's favorite thing in the entire world. They could forget about everything that was awful and have any life they wanted.

Belle had never wanted Faith's life to be hindered like hers had been. She always encouraged Faith in whatever new fantasy she had. Imagination was one of Belle's best traits. It turned any stickler into a dreamer. It was infectious.

"Believe me when I tell you that she knows. She knows just how much you love her and miss her. She's always watching over you. I know because she's watching over me too," he comforted. Faith stopped crying shortly after a minute or two. "Come on, We have to get you back to school. Ms. Swan is very worried about you. I have to get something from home first though okay?"

"Okay," she said as they walked back to his car.

* * *

 **As always please leave your reviews. I love that I have Almost 700 views but that does not tell me whether you like it or not.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys! Only two chapters left! I'm so excited! I hope you guys love this story as much as I do. As always please let me know what you think. BTW BumpleRumple I think you will be particularly happy with this edition. Enjoy!**

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Belle was finally in Storybrooke Maine. It was a miracle. She was so close to home. Every bone in her body told her that this was right. She turned back to Olivia and Isaac. "I'm here. I'm almost home."

"I knew you would get here," Isaac laughed. "What are you waiting for? Go get them."

"You're not coming?" she asked.

"No sweetheart. This is something you need to do yourself," he told her. "You've helped a lot of people out on your journey. It's time you got your happily ever after."

She hugged him and Olivia tightly. "Thank you both so much," she said letting them go. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pencil and quickly scribbled down almost the exact same thing she had for Elena. "For when you find your son and her father."

"Will do, Miss Prescott," he told her. "Now go, Run."

"I am. Bye Isaac! Bye Olivia!" she called as she dashed out the door of the dreadful bus. She ran. Her bones aching, everything hurt from top to bottom. She was three blocks away from Russell's house. It was still mid afternoon and a weekday so he could've been working but she didn't care. It was the only place she could go. If he wasn't there, she would wait for him to get home.

She was now on the street of his house. A car was pulling into the driveway. Two people got out of it. A young man and a little girl. It was them. Russell and Faith. They went inside the house. She ran faster. Faster than she'd ever run in her life. There was her family. Almost in reach.

She reached the doorway and pulled the hidden key out from the ladybug planter and fumbled with it. Desperate to get inside. Finally it opened. She dashed in and called out, "Faith! Russell!"

* * *

Russell heard a voice that made he and Faith both stop. It was impossible. There was no possible way for it to be who he thought it was. The accent he would never forget. He quickly grabbed the vase off the table and put Faith behind him. "Whoever you are, you are not allowed in my house," he said as he rounded the corner.

He dropped the vase and it broke into a million pieces. There standing before him was the love of his life. Belle French was standing right in front of him. Her eyes were full of love and joy as she gazed upon them with tears starting to form in them. Her long brown hair was gnarled and knotted from what looked to be like a couple of days worth of not brushing. Her clothes were cheap, worn and had holes in them, but not the same ones she had been taken in. Her smile was the same as it had been all those years ago. Enduring, alluring and loving of everyone, no matter who they were.

"Belle!" Faith shouted. She ran into her sister's arms. They both started crying. "Belle, you're alive! You're okay!"

"I'm here," Belle told her as she began to cry. "And I'm never leaving you again," she promised.

Russell was still frozen from the shock. There was no way to explain this. Then Belle turned to him. She gently moved Faith out of her arms so she could get to him. She slowly walked up to him. "Russell?" she asked nervously.

He reached out to cup her cheek. He needed to feel her. Know that she was indeed his lost love from three years ago. "Are you really here?" he asked. He was so afraid that this was a dream or some illusion. A cruel joke of some kind. She reached up and took his cheek as well.

"Yes," she said. In an instant they were wrapped in each other's arms, clinging as if their life depended on it. Their bodies welding together in familiar yet lost heat of each other. Feeling a way they hadn't felt in years. They cried tears of joy as they were finally reunited. True love finally giving them their happy ending.

After a minute or two, he pulled her away just enough to see her face. He leaned down and kissed her. Every emotion went off like a gun as they collided. Passion burned throughout them and the magic they thought was lost was returned after all this time.

The kiss ended and they pulled away for air. "It is you," he said.

"I'm home," she said. Faith ran back to her, no longer able to contain herself, and hugged Belle at the waist. Belle hoisted Faith up and held them both close. "I'm finally home," she whispered.

* * *

Faith had been finally put to bed and Belle and Russell headed downstairs to the living room. It was finally their time to be together alone. Russell had so many things he wanted to ask and say. But first, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight to which she quickly followed.

"Sweetheart," he said. "I've missed you so much."

"I held on everyday knowing that I would one day I would finally be in your arms again and that Faith would be there too," she told him.

He kissed her cheek. "Belle there were so many things that I wished I could've told you. I wanted to tell you that I love you. I didn't have the courage to tell you then but when you were taken I promised myself that I would tell you. I love Belle with all my heart. I never want a day to go by again where you aren't in my life."

"Russell, I've loved you from the first day I met you and I never want that to happen again either," she told him.

He kissed her. The passion between them could've fueled the entire town. It was electric. It was the kind of kiss that told you that this was true love.

They had to pull away for air but the sparks still sprung from them. "Tomorrow I'm taking the day off," he told her. "And we'll catch each other up. But for now it think it's best you get some rest. You don't look well darling."

"Really Russel, I'm fine. I've just been crammed into a lot of uncomfortable places. I promise I will tell you all about it tomorrow," Belle told him. She gave him a small kiss before saying, "I'm okay."

"Take my bed tonight," he told her. "It's far more comfortable than the couch."

"Thank you," she said.

He kissed her forehead one last time. "Good night, Sweetheart."

"Good night Russell," she said. And with that, she disappeared up the steps.

* * *

 **Well gang, we finally got her home. As I said earlier this is NOT the end. two chapters left guys! :D I'm so excited. Please let me know what you think.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long. I had a ski trip last night and I was working hard to make sure I didn't have any homework. So, One chapter left! Hopefully this one fills in the blanks. Also for the people who were reading this before. So sorry about the mix up on the chapters. I hit the wrong one by accident and didn't realize until Fanfics10 let me know. Thank you so much!**

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By the end of three days. Belle had been welcomed home and had told her story to every single person in town. Tonight was the welcome home party for her and the whole town gathered together to celebrate her return in the library. Everyone mingled together and she was finally introduced to Emma Swan.

"Belle!" Faith called as she grabbed her hand and started running her over to Killian and a young woman that she hadn't met yet. "Belle! This is Ms. Swan. My teacher at school. She's the best one we've ever had."

Emma laughed and extended her arm towards Belle. "Hi, I'm Emma."

Belle quickly shook it and introduced herself, "Belle."

"It's nice to finally meet you. Your sister raves about you all the time as does the rest of the town," Emma said.

"Faith talks about you just as much," she said. "And Killian, word on the street is you've found yourself someone."

"I have. Thank you very much," he said as he kissed Emma's cheek and wrapped his arms around her.

"I do have to tell you though, that I may love you like a brother, but if you do anything wrong by her I will be coming for you with fire and more willpower than you can imagine," she warned playfully.

"I can safely promise you that you won't ever have to do that," Killian told her still holding onto Emma. They all laughed knowing it in their hearts to be true.

BOOM!

The doors of the library opened with a crash. Everyone gasped and turned towards the alarming sound. Three men entered the packed little library. Two of them had guns and the one in the middle was a face that Belle was scared to death of. He had short curly hair with stubble, dark blue eyes that matched his personality of that and twisted. A crooked smile that was enjoying every single moment of this. The man wore his business suit just like his two giant goons behind him. Ellis Willes.

The man that had kept her from everyone she loved for three years and had made her suffer from the minute they were reunited. She quickly pulled Faith behind her while Russell took a step forward, both of them ready for a fight.

"Belle French !" he called out in his overdramatic form. The entire crowd turned towards Belle making it very easy for him to find her. "Your debt has not been paid yet!"

"I did more than enough for you. I served you for over three years," she told him.

"Too bad it wasn't enough. That airline money wasn't cheap dearie. You knew that when you accepted the money." he said. "All these years I was waiting for that money and it never came. Do you know how annoying that is? People thinking they can borrow from you and not return it?"

"You knew full well I had no idea my trip home would be expected to be paid back," she told him angrily.

"Yes well I made that clear three years ago and now it's time to finish your debt," he said. "Come on dear, it's time to go back."

"No," Russell told him. Ellis looked at him and smiled. "You've taken her away from us once. You are not gonna do it again."

"I know who you are," Ellis said. "Your the man that tried to fight off my men but failed. Tell me how do you think you're going to do any better this time?"

"We're not giving up without a fight," Killian told him.

Ellis laughed at them both, "You still forget that my guys are holding guns and are not afraid to shoot."

Killian and Russell looked at each other giving slight nods as they slowly advanced as Ellis continued to rattle off his monologue.

"Neither one of you is stupid enough to get into the mess that will follow the second either of you make a dumb move. You both want to see your ladies alive again. And I believe that you have a daughter to take care of this time around," he told them pointing at Russell.

Then the guys socked the goons in the jaw making enough damage to have them drop their guns. It went into a full out brawl. Fists flying everywhere while the girls started running to the safest place they could find. Finally the goons were subdued and Russell approached Ellis who was now shaking like a scared little boy. He grabbed him by his shirt and said, "Let's get one thing straight. You will never hurt her or anyone else ever again. And if you go anywhere near Belle, Faith or Emma (he said for Killian 's sake) I will hunt you down myself and kill you. Do you understand?"

Police squadrons came whirring down the street as they flooded into the library and apprehended him and the unconscious goons. Taking them away to be locked up forever.

Belle, Emma and Faith came running out to their rescuers, holding them close. "Thank you," Belle whispered.

"I wasn't going to let them take you again. I'm never letting you go. Never," he reassured her.

* * *

 **Please let me know what you think I'm scared to death that you guys don't. Although the now 800 views are slightly comforting it is not the same as knowing for sure.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys! For those of you who missed it, Chapter 22 has been fixed. So sorry about the mix-up. Last chapter! It's short but I loved it. I hope you all love this story as much as I do. I love all of you. Special thanks to Fanfics10, BumpleRumple, Actress10, and everyone who either favorited or followed this story. Anyways, The Epilogue!**

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"Come on, Come on, Hurry, We're going to be late and miss it!" Belle yelled trying to get everyone out of the car and into the hospital. They were all dashing to Emma's room as fast as they could. They burst through the door of the floor and flew down to the room. "Did we miss it?" she frantically asked Killian.

"You are right on time," he said as he opened the door to his wife's room. Everyone crowded around her and the little bundle wrapped in a soft pink blanket in her arms. "It's a girl."

They all awed and fawned over the beautiful sleeping baby girl. "What's her name?" Russell asked.

"Her name is Alice Hope Jones," Emma told them.

"That is a beautiful name," Belle said.

"Hey wait a second," Faith said as she grabbed her letter book from her backpack and hastily turned every page until she took out three old letters. "Do the names Richard Carrington, Elena Fisher or Isaac and Olivia Thompson mean anything to you?"

"Yes!" she gasped and nearly tore the letters out of Faith's hands. "I thought they had all forgotten about me by now." she read through every letter with intense focus.

"Mommy, who are they?" Joy asked.

"They are people I met on my journey home," she told them. "I told them my name was Hope Prescott so they would be in less danger than if they knew who I really was. It apparently didn't help, but it was what happened."

"That when you got your story?" she asked.

"Yes sweetheart," she said brushing some of her light brown hair out of the big green orbs of her two year old daughter. "It wasn't long after that when your daddy proposed to me. Come to think of it, your Uncle Killian asked your Aunt Emma to marry him before your father did."

"Well now we have a Hope, Joy, and Faith," Killian said. "What in the world are we going to name the boys?" he teased.

"Oh my goodness, do not go there," Emma told him. "I just got done pushing out this one. Don't even think about another one until maybe three years." He gave her a small but loving kiss on her forehead as she laughed.

Belle leaned into Russell's side. These three years had been the best three years of her life. This was how life was supposed to be. And she knew that she had many more years left. Full of love, little moments and happy endings. This was it. This was her happily ever after.


End file.
